Adaptations
by Tsuki-shining09
Summary: After being home schooled almost all his life, Jake English never knew what to expect from high school. He finds it enjoyable, really, it wasn't hard to make friends. But being surrounded by teens pumped on hormones, commanding school staff, conceited assholes, and a guy who possibly harbors romantic feelings for you was something that the adventurer really needed to get used to.
1. New Environment, New Life

**Before Note: HI! First Homestuck fanfic omg! I should apologize in advance for any OOCness and stuff. But this _is _fanfiction so it shouldn't really matter that much! **

**Ok so as far as plot and updates go, I'm not that much of a planner so updates might not be consistent and could take a while even more so now that I'm starting school in a week. I'll try to see if I can post something by then but the chances are slim. I absolutely adore JakexDirk (OTP!) so I just had to write a fanfic about these two! *scream* I suppose I should say I'm basing some aspects of high school life here on my own freshman experience and I really have no idea where I'm going with this. I just tend to write as I go, not really planning ahead much *dies*. But I WILL write sloppy make outs! It WILL happen eventually! XD **

**I will warn that this first chapter is a bit uneventful. But its the first chapter! I'm just setting up my stuff here! X)**

**Disclaimer: All things _Homestuck_ in this fanfic rightfully belong to Andrew Hussie! I'm just bored, I don't want to gain anything here, just wanna entertain!  
**

**Enjoy!**

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Jake English never knew what to expect from high school. Movies and books always made it seem fun and dramatic. So many possibilities, so many things happening. So it shouldn't be that bad, right?

All in all, the first day of freshman year wasn't too bad.

Grandma Harley had eased the boy's nerves by wishing him the best of luck in his studies and in socializing. She assured him that there wasn't a thing the other students knew that he didn't, seeing as he had been previously home-schooled, and only now for the first time would he actually attend a public school. The raven-haired boy had left his house with a tight grip on his backpack and a good amount of confidence above his head, making the short walk to the school seem quicker than it really was. Such an adventure he would have! That was for sure! He had stopped after passing the gate, gazing at the massive building in front of him and then at the huge mess of teenagers that was piling through the doors.

Oh my, so many people.

Already, there was a drastic change in environment than what Jake was accustomed to. Screaming and shoving and overcrowded were nothing like the peace and quiet he was adapted to back at home with grandma. He would be lying if he said the loudness didn't slightly irritate him.

After being shoved through by a group of older looking boys, he quickened his pace to avoid being trampled upon and made his way into the building, realizing that, well, he had no darn idea where to go. He supposed he had to pick up his schedule, as he was told to do so when he had registered a few days back. Seeing that everyone scurried in the same general direction, he followed the crowd, feeling uncomfortable as he was forced to squeeze in between people to get by. Eventually, they all reached what seemed to be the cafeteria, where several desks stood in the front, handing out schedules in order of last name. Jake caught on quickly and stood in the line for the desk labeled A-E. He looked around at the people around him. Everyone either had a friend with them or was on their phones contacting their buddies. No one took notice of him and no one near him seemed to want to start a conversation. So he stood there silently, frustrated gaze on the shiny tile floor beneath him until it was his turn to pick up his schedule. Ok, well he supposed he would get more opportunities to talk to people once he was actually sitting in the classroom. And don't you get the wrong idea here, it's not like he had never spoken or made friends before. He wasn't _that_ socially deprived. Sheesh. The internet did wonders. After navigating the crowd once again, he managed to find an empty table so he could properly examine the golden yellow paper given to him.

So he had Geometry first, not bad. Following it was Biology, then English, Physical Education, World History, and lastly, Art .

The tan boy sat there, musing over his schedule until an announcement was heard over the speaker, warning all students to be in their first period class in fifteen minutes before the tardy bell rung. He groaned out loud as the sudden realization hit him once again that he had no idea where in the world classroom B104 would be located. Sweet Jesus, he was hopeless.

"Hey there! Are you a freshman?" Green eyes snapped up and directed themselves to a tall girl with short hair and white glasses. She wore a dark blue skirt and a bright red shirt with the words 'Student Help' printed in large white letters and Jake faintly recalled seeing a few other students wearing the same shirt as well. "Oh! It's you Jake!" A blue painted smile perked up on her lips. "How's the public education system treating you so far?"

Aranea was one of the only people he knew enough to call them friend. He met her when he was around eleven at the city library. She was thirteen at the time. At first they simply acknowledged each other as they sat comfortably at the same table reading their literature. Eventually, they started chatting about their reading material and later on got to know each other more personally. She even invited him to hang out once in a while so she could introduce him to some of her friends. Jake had been quite intimidated by Meenah and Cronus at first sight, and half the time he just wanted Kankri to just _shut his fucking trap for once_. The boy got along ok with all of them, but the age difference, although it wasn't much, really made it awkward sometimes, seeing as he still was too young to understand certain…_things_.

Cronus and Meenah made sure to fix that, though. Aranea and Kankri had scolded them both after Jake started casually swearing and fitting things with double meaning in his speech. But the damage was done. His "innocence", as Kankri put it, was long gone. There was no going back.

Ever.

"It certainly is, uh, different?" He offered. How the hell could he even explain it?

"I get what you mean, but you have just arrived. You still need to judge the classroom experience," she grinned, "Speaking of which, we better get you to your first class. I'm assuming you have no idea how to get there, right?" The male nodded sheepishly and handed her his schedule.

"Well," her blue eyes went back to the paper again before she handed it back, "Your class isn't too far from here. Just follow me." And so he did, while struggling to keep up with her quick paces as he tried not to lose her in human traffic. Within a few minutes, the younger teen was met face to face with door B104 and he couldn't be happier for the help.

"I'm pretty sure I would have been wandering all the damn halls in the opposite side of the school if you hadn't come along."

"No problem!" Aranea grinned and raised a hand to tug at her shirt, "If you need any more help finding places and such, just look for the people with these shirts. They will all gladly help you!"

After she gave him a quick hug goodbye, the boy followed behind a few other students into the classroom. Most were already sitting where they pleased or standing to the side talking to others. The tall man he assumed to be the teacher sat quietly at his desk as he watched the incoming teens. Jake scanned the room and took an empty seat near the back where two girls were chatting peacefully. The smaller of the two turned to him and smiled.

"Hello! I see we'll be sitting next to each other for now. My name's Jane." She offered a hand and he took it without hesitance, noting how proper she spoke and dressed compared to the other students. Her short hair was neatly combed and her black shoes shone as bright as her framed glasses that stood neatly upon her clean face. A lovely gal at first sight.

"Jake English, pleasure to meet you." He spoke as smoothly as he could. Before either of them could say anything else, though, the girl Jane had been speaking to poked her blond head between the two and giggled.

"Oh my god, are you British? That accent is so adorable!" Her purple painted lips formed a grin and the male couldn't help but blush and fumble over his words at the attention.

"Ah, well, my grandmother took me on trips to Europe frequently when I was young. I should say I may have picked it up over time." A chuckle followed his statement. Grandma had always been the adventurous type, her love for traveling proved that. Yet, she wasn't getting younger as the years passed, so vacations happened less often and even more so now that school would limit his free time.

"Ooh. That's so cool! Name's Roxy, by the way." She offered a wink and went to her seat as the bell rang.

Being the first day, the teacher had nothing planned besides taking attendance and going over guidelines, so he left the class to chat for the rest of the period. Not much of an interesting teacher, Jake thought. Much to the boy's liking, the two girls were inclined to make Jake their friend and he got to know them better throughout the period. He learned that Jane had a passion for baking, pranks, and old-fashioned mustached men. He was amused at her silliness as she made faces with her fake mustachio dangling by a chain around her neck.

As for Roxy, he realized she was a more modern person for she claimed to be a decent hacker, enjoyed a good share of video games and knew her way around other gadgets. She also had a thing for books such as Harry Potter, or wizards, to be exact. He found it odd but he guessed it explained the ridiculously long and striped scarf around her neck (Jake was one to always watch the movies and never read the books).

Likewise, Jake also shared a few things about himself he found suitable. As he had mentioned before, he told them about the many trips he went on with his grandma and how he had been homeschooled (the blond one suddenly became way more interested as he revealed his practice for controlled shooting, a hobby that apparently, the both of them shared). He also excitedly brought up his fascination for any and every motion picture film in existence, particularly the adventurous blockbuster hits such as Indiana Jones and Avatar. Not to mention that Angelina Jolie was a total _babe_. Roxy ended up teasing him for it, calling him a dork, but Jane shushed her and they continued chatting.

The boy jumped as the bell rang for second period, making the duo giggle. They shared Pesterchum handles and compared schedules, glad that they had a few more classes in common. He had next period Biology with Jane and P.E and Art with Roxy. Hopefully he would be able to make more friends again the same way he did with the girls. Maybe he could see if Cronus, Meenah, and Kankri were also around, but he didn't set his expectations too high. They were juniors after all and probably had their own little group to hang out with. Jake had enough of hanging out with people older than him as it was. Too awkward and overwhelming.

After parting ways with Roxy, Jake and Jane headed off to their next class.

Ah, you're not getting lost yet, English.

(He knew he should have attended the orientation!)

The short girl clutched her binder to her chest and turned to look at the one next to her. "So should I assume you don't know a lot of people here?"

The male shrugged and stuck his hands in the pockets of his shorts. "Not really, I do know some people but they're juniors."

"Oh, I see. I could introduce you to some new people if you'd like?" She trailed off, waiting for a confirmation.

He smiled at her concern, causing a blush to form on her cheeks. "That'd be lovely."

Biology went similarly as Geometry, the period was free for idle talking. The only difference was that, oh yeah.

Jake met someone who must have been the biggest asshole on the whole fucking planet.

The guy was loud, rude, and incredibly immature.

Not to mention his art was _shit_.

And not _shit _as in _the shit_, like "omg you're an artist".

No.

_Shit_ as in pure _crap_.

And while having shitty art was not a big deal, it didn't give you the right to broadcast it as the best thing in the whole world.

"Is he always like this?" The tan boy inquired. Jane sighed.

"Unfortunately, I don't get why he has to be so mean, though. He even treats his sister pretty badly, if not worse. Calliope is a complete opposite from him, she's really sweet."

Poor girl.

Before the adventurer could respond to that, a certain person was trying to get their attention. If you count a piece of paper being shoved in front of your face as getting your attention, that is.

"Hey Crocker! I drew you a portrait. Feel free to openly praise the perfection of it. I worked really hard to depict you as flawlessly as possible." There was a smug grin on the freckled face as he leaned over the wide desk and oh god are you serious. The paper showed nothing else but a light blue circle. A _perfect_ light blue circle.

Hey, gotta give the guy some credit.

Jane muttered an "oh my god no" and practically hid her face in her hands, glasses going askew and over her forehead.

"Uh, what?" Jake muttered. If he knew one thing, it was that Jane certainly did not resemble a spherical shape!

The girl raised her head with an absolutely peeved expression on her face. "Caliborn, I am _not_ fat."

The boy, Caliborn, poked her side and then her cheek, earning a slap at the hand. "The horizontal dimensions don't really follow your statement." This only seemed to aggravate the prankster even more.

"_Then go fuck yourself!_"

The raven haired boy made a mental note to avoid angering Jane in the future and spoke up. "Will you leave her alone already? Who gave you the right to go and insult her like that?!"

The other looked at him as if he barely noticed he was there, his expression then turning into one of complete annoyance. "And who the fuck do you think you are, telling me what to do!"

"You three! Quit the arguing!" The teacher yelled from across the room. Some students started looking at them quizzically while others groaned after realizing what type of teacher they would be stuck with. The lady then pointed a finger at the rude boy. "You, back to your seat. I'll let it slide just this once." Well, there goes the first impression. Caliborn looked as if he was about to retort something back but decided against it and grudgingly complied. Good. The last thing they needed was a tantrum.

"He is such an unpleasant fellow." Jake mumbled, trying so hard to keep himself from engaging in a cursing fit. It was clear that it wasn't the first time Caliborn bugged Jane like that and it only irritated him more.

"Tell me about it," the short girl huffed, "But you eventually learn to deal with it. At least, most of the time." They both chuckled and waited for the period to end.

Following second period was a fifteen minute break and Jane wasted no time in dragging Jake along with her to meet up with the blond gamer.

"Have you seen Dirk yet?"

"Nah, guy's probably gonna be late like always!" Roxy giggled and adjusted her scarf. The other girl rolled her eyes.

"That's so typical of him," she directed her light blue eyes to the tan boy, "Ah, you still have to meet Dirk. I'm pretty sure you two will get along pretty well."

Dirk, huh? "If that's the case then I can't wait to meet him." He looked forward to the opportunity of making a new friend. Blimey! This day was turning out to be better than expected!

Third period English went pretty uneventful. Jake didn't really talk to anyone, but that was okay with him. He didn't really feel like it anyways after some shouty kid made such a _terrible_ pun out of his last name during roll call, making everyone in the class erupt in laughter. So his last name was English and he happened to be in an English class. _S__o what?_ At least the attention he was getting didn't last long as some blond kid with shades strolled in late. The adventurer payed him no mind and took out a piece of paper from his binder and started to doodle. By the end of the period the page was completely filled front and back with sketches of skulls and guns. He chucked it into the recycle bin as he went out.

Upon arriving at the gym with the assistance of some of the 'Student Help' people, he was immediately tackled by Roxy, almost knocking the glasses off his face. Oh yeah. He forgot he had this class with her.

"Hey Jakey!" She paused as she untangled herself from him and her purple eyes seemed to lock on to something. "Omg! Dirk!" The girl skipped past him and latched herself to the other boy as she had done so previously. The raven haired student raised a brow as she practically climbed onto the guy's back and squished her arms around his neck. He, in turn, hesitantly grabbed her ankles and adjusted himself so she wouldn't fall, causing her to bounce up and squeal. Jake took notice that he was blond and wore pointy shades (indoors?) and oh.

Mr. Tardy Guy.

Well, then.

"Dirk, this is Jaaaake," she pointed a finger which the guy obviously couldn't see, "Jake, this is Dirrrrk."

"Uh hi, nice to meet you," the tan boy would have offered a hand, but he suppose he shouldn't since Dirk's arms were currently occupied.

"Sup," the other male nodded, "So I see you've had the misfortune of meeting the feisty Lalonde over here?"

"Hey!" Roxy yelled, pouting and crossing her arms. Dirk took the opportunity to make her bounce once again and make her lean back, making her scream and clutch at his spiky hair for dear life. Jake couldn't help but smile. Were they together? It looked like it, but then again, those two and Jane looked like they were close friends. So it could be just some sort of platonic affection? He didn't really know and he would feel weird if he asked.

Dirk Strider was a very...interesting fellow. Jake couldn't really come to make a complete opinion about him. To start off, the guy was expressionless. And those weird shades didn't help either, hiding his reactions completely. Was it even allowed to wear shades in this school? The only thing he really got from the coolkid was a smug grin, that was about it. And he always spoke in this low, deep voice, his tone never failing to hide any sort of mood. It was as if Dirk either wanted a lot of attention or none at all. The adventurer supposed it was the former, seeing as the tall one kept to himself and didn't really talk to anyone else while Roxy went to meet up with old friends. At least he did get to learn a bit about him, like the fact that he was good at mechanics or that he was knowledgeable in Japanese culture (more like "he knows how to use shitty swords" as Roxy put it). But Jake had to admit, it was easy to talk to him, and it was amusing to see the two blonds snap insults back and forth at each other. So he made up his mind that, yes, it looked like he would get along great with the tech genius.

Nonetheless, the raven haired male was excited to hear that he had Dirk in his Art class as well. Dirk and Roxy were such a fun pair!

Lunch went by quickly, seeing as the four took almost the whole break trying to find Jane and waiting in the long lines to get food. The shorter male had hesitantly prodded at the mush of mash potatoes and gravy.

"Welcome to the world of school cafeteria food, bro," Dirk said, grabbing some juice and an apple before throwing the rest in the trash. Jake cringed.

"Seriously?"

"Yep."

Slightly disappointed, he sat along with the others at a table. Jane then proceeded to steal his attention for the rest of the time, chatting about her classes so far and asking how he was doing himself.

World History was going to be the class Jake was going to hate. He knew that much already. It seemed like the longest period of the day and the teacher was just so _boring. _It had been okay at first. After roll call, the old man went over a few rules and an overview of the material they were going to go over throughout the year. But then he started lecturing on the importance of being on time for fifteen minutes as one girl came in late, and he kept going on and on and on about college and responsibility and the tan boy almost banged his head on the desk because dear god he wouldn't shut up and it reminded him so much of Kankri and just

No.

_Ugh._

Jake wasn't the only one that jumped out of his seat when the bell rang, making a run for the door.

When he entered the art classroom he was immediately called over by Roxy to one of the many tables that seated four people each. Dirk was already in his own seat there and there was another girl who looked familiar but was sure he hadn't talked to yet. The boy let his bag fall to the floor next to the chair and seated himself.

"Ok, so, this is Calliope," the blond introduced eagerly, "And Calliope, this is Jake." Upon closer look, Jake recalled Jane telling him about Caliborn's sister. And this was her, without a doubt. They were almost identical. Twins? But Calliope clearly had more feminine features. No wonder she looked familiar, but wasn't.

They politely shook hands and he noticed the sketchbook in front of her which she was currently using. Wow. She could draw. It was obvious that she and her brother really were opposites. The last thing thing she showed to be was conceited, rude, and a shitty artist. After the teacher called attendance, Roxy encouraged the girl to show Jake her artwork. She shyly complied and flipped through many pages, showing him the ones she wanted to. He easily recognized his three friends in some of them, and couldn't help complimenting her at the creativity. It showed that both the girls were close friends as well. The shaded boy kept quiet as usual, it didn't look like he really wanted to be in the class.

"I wanted to take auto mechanics." He had said when Roxy bugged him about it.

"But art is fun!" The three had tried to convince him otherwise, but to no avail.

The class flew by like some of the previous ones, and the bell soon rung. Just that this time, it was time to go home.

At least now he also had Calliope's Pesterchum handle, and Dirk's too.

* * *

The adventurer had eagerly burst through the door of his home and into the kitchen and told his grandma all about it.

"Oh I'm so glad you had fun, Jake." She said as she gave him a tight hug. "Such an adventure you had!"

The raven haired boy chuckled. "I love you too grandma!"

Such a great day he had!

Quickly, Jake then hurried up to his room and turned on his computer, logging onto Pesterchum and sending the four friend-invites. Should he pester them now? Was it too soon? He looked over the four handles. He kinda wanted to get to know Dirk better. Would he be more open if it was just the two of them talking? Would he even want to talk to him? He didn't really want to annoy the fellow, resulting in not talking to him at all. Maybe he should just talk to Jane or something when she was online. He snapped out of his thoughts when he heard a ping from the computer.

**- timaeusTestified [TT] began pestering golgothasTerror [GT] -**

Jake grinned.

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**After Note: Ok so I had a good time writing that! Lol Even if it was an abrupt ending D:**

**If you didn't notice with the Caliborn scene, its almost matches the similar scene from the comic, even the dialogue. hehe I might do that for some other fitting scenes idk lol After this I'll try to see if I can doodle up a good cover pic for the fanfic. Not promising anything tho! I'm so irked by the fact that we aren't really allowed to write 2nd person POV. I would have loved to write this in 2nd person D: ANYWAYS**

**Really hope you enjoyed! Comments and feedback is always welcome! :D**


	2. Adapt to Survive

**Before Note: Okay so I managed to update before school started. WOOP WOOP. And the bad thing is that school starts. The day after tomorrow. Ugh. One more day of freedom. And because of that I'll warn that I won't be able to update frequently, most likely. I will be aiming for once a week but if I don't then I can only promise once a month. But I'll try my best.**

**Disclaimer: Characters and all things _Homestuck_ in this fanfic belong to the Huss. I just own the plot here and doing this fo fun. bluh**

**Thank you to my followers and reviewers! Glad to know someone enjoys this so far :D Enjoy!**

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It took Jake about a month to finally adjust to the new school life. The first few days had been such a drag for him, there was just so many things he had to keep up with and adjust to. To start off, he had to form an adequate sleeping schedule. It wasn't that sleeping late and waking up late was a usual thing for him, just that he needed to get his body adapted to waking up at six in the morning _without_ it feeling like gravity was fighting him to the ground. He found that hitting the hay at around ten did the trick for him, when he usually went at around midnight.

Man, and he thought sleep was for the weak. Never before had he worshipped the cozy softness of his bed until now.

And then there was the dreaded homework. Again, not much of a problem except for the fact that he had to set himself on a strict schedule to get it all done before he went to bed. He even considered joining Aranea's after school book club, but he turned down the offer so he could have more time to work. Usually, he could take a few breaks of procrastination before his brain exploded, but now he was forced to be equally consistent in putting effort into all of his subjects. Which meant he had to concentrate for longer periods of time. That was the hardest part about sitting in the classroom. You were forced to sit in your seat and focus for a whole hour. No breaks. Each class. Maybe that's why he always looked forward to P.E. It was the perfect way to let his brain cool down from trying to keep up with the classroom pace by giving his body a much needed workout. His body may be healthy but sitting around at home studying and fucking around on the internet looking at cat pictures and reading webcomics all day everyday really made his muscles a tad weak.

Putting all things you were actually supposed to do in school aside, Jake really enjoyed and hated the socialness going to school had to offer. Don't get him wrong, it felt good to finally quit being homestuck and look forward to meeting up with Jane and the others. But there was a difference between being surrounded by his friends and being surrounded by hormonal teens and all types of assholes. He learned to handle the crowds on every journey he took to get to his next class, because really, you had no choice but to learn to deal with it. It was inevitable. What he didn't understand was _why people had the need to suck each other's faces off in every fucking hallway. _The levels of PDA in the whole school broke the damn meter faster than Jane's prankster's gambit ever would.

Then came the actual socializing. The raven haired boy was always wary when starting a conversation with someone new. He soon came to realize that not everybody was easy to talk to like it was with Jane, Roxy, Dirk, and even Calliope. Or that not everybody wanted to talk to him in the first place. _Or _that there were people who he shouldn't even be talking to, in the first place. Not everyone was exactly trustworthy enough to share things with and not everyone would particularly care about it. It was a thing about hanging out with the right people suitable to you and avoiding the wrong crowd.

And talking about the bad crowd, Jake also found it hard to defend himself when caught in certain situations. He just didn't know in what ways he had to confront it so he usually tried to ignore the people bothering him or just take it. Yet, Dirk was all but pleased when he witnessed the tan boy being pushed around by a couple of bastard jocks in the locker room for P.E. After a few kicks and punches (_ok, wow, the guy moved fast_), the blond had shoved the shorter male against the lockers, pinning him there, and after seeing no other reaction but a questioning gaze from behind framed glasses, he sighed.

"Look, I know you're a good person and all, but that doesn't mean you should take shit from anyone, ok?" There was a touch a concern in the statement and Jake had to hold back a smile.

"I guess I wouldn't if I knew how," he had said honestly, and after a moment's silence, he continued, "I suppose I should probably at least try to, huh?" The raven haired boy then gave the other a rough push to the shoulders, shoving him off until his back hit the set of lockers straight across. The only thing that had showed Dirk's surprise was how his eyebrows rose above his shades. "How's that?" He felt a wave of pride overflow him at having left the shaded boy speechless and he offered a hand, which was begrudgingly taken. "Let's go before the coach yells at us."

Jake liked talking to Dirk, even when their conversations consisted of mostly smartass remarks being thrown back and forth (Don't even get him started on the raps, or the irony, for that matter, but hey, at least now he knew that the guy wasn't really emotionless, he just liked to hide it). Maybe it was because the mechanic was the only other guy in their little group, who knows, but within the first month, through chatting in class and pestering each other on weekends, they had gone from mere acquaintances to more or less 'best bros'. Not as far as Jane and Roxy being 'BFFsies 4Evers', but close enough. The adventurer hoped that the other felt the same, he had never really had a best friend before. It would be nice if the blond filled in that spot.

But he wouldn't push it. The last thing he wanted to seem like was a clingy and annoying pain in the ass.

Lately, he had felt as if he might be a bit overbearing every time he started the pestering with his friends, so he occasionally let the others message him first. The new and foreign self-consciousness had been bugging him for days now and he found himself confiding in Jane about it more than anyone else. She was the most understanding and always did what she could to help him out, even in his studies. Calliope had a similar attitude, but she was more reserved than the short-haired girl. Roxy also gave good advice and was great at sorting out problems, but he just didn't connect with her as much as he did with Jane. Yet, that same self-consciousness Jane was helping him overcome went and kicked him in the ass the day she had snapped at him after school.

"Jake shut up! I know that this is something that is really eating at you, but that's all you've ever come to talk to me about! And even then, you keep on rambling so much that you barely let me talk! Stop acting like a hypocrite!" The tan boy had winced at her words and stayed quiet, not wanting to anger her more and realizing what he had been doing. What he didn't want to do in the first place.

Fuck, he was stupid.

She had then stormed off in the direction of her house, leaving him in her dust, almost literally.

And so he did what he saw as the most reasonable thing to do after taking a few minutes to talk to his grandma about it when he got home. He lay in bed that night, thinking of an appropriate apology to deliver to the young lady. He had to keep it short, but meaningful. He had to avoid rambling into a fit of apologies because it would end up defeating the purpose of it in the first place. The next day, he arrived to his first class early and was glad to find Jane already sitting in her seat with Roxy not there yet. He hesitantly sat at the desk next to her and she looked at him skeptically, light reflecting off her glasses and wow that was kinda scary to look at. But he couldn't be intimidated by that now. No way.

"Okay," he breathed in, recalling his thoughts from the previous night, "You have every right to be annoyed at me, and I understand if you still are, but I just want to say that I'm really sorry for acting the way I did. I didn't realize how overbearing and selfish I was being until you pointed it out, and it was never my intention to act like that towards you," his fingers tangled gracelessly, " I should have considered your feelings first before going on about mine." Green eyes met blue at the sound of a short giggle, and Jake was confused to see the baker trying to suppress a few laughs.

"Don't worry so much, Jake," she leaned in and stopped, looking unsure, but then quickly giving the boy a chaste kiss on the cheek that then flushed red, "I overreacted in the first place, and it must be hard for you to deal with that kind of stuff. I understand completely."

Sweet damn relief.

So after that little incident, Jake mused a bit over Jane's advice, which went a little like, "just be yourself, but you do tend to go off into a bunch of rambling about yourself sometimes, so simply think a little bit about some of the things you say before you say them". He found her words reasonable enough, and he was able to adjust how he interacted with others to his benefit. Gosh, he sure was glad to have Jane as a friend.

September quickly turned into October, with shorts and tank tops slowly turning into hoodies and boots, ice-cold lemonades turning into coffee and hot chocolate and all that good stuff. Classes finally settled into a daily routine, something Jake had to learn to tolerate.

Lectures, notes, homework, weekly tests and pop quizzes, small projects, worksheets.

Same thing everyday, so boring!

Even though he always self-taught himself most of the material back at home, grandma would always find some fun ways to test his knowledge. She would get some cool videos or try some experiments with him to go with the material he was working on. They even role-played some historical events in the living room! The only classes that offered that much of a hands-on experience was Biology and Art. The other teachers just taught you straight from the textbook, and that was no fun! The adventurer found himself going to Dirk and Jane often for help on essays, assignments that were incredibly foreign to him. Jane for her perfect grammar, Dirk for his wide knowledge.

But Jake had to admit, he liked this change in his life. He felt it was doing him good.

Not to mention Halloween was coming up soon, too! He couldn't wait to show off some of his grandma's homemade pumpkin treats to his friends. Hell, he could even invite them over when Grandma Harely got busy in the kitchen, Janey sure would have a field day with that! The pumpkin patch in the yard looked promising this year!

"So, what are you guy's Halloween plans this year?" Roxy asked after taking a bite out of her pasta and bread lunch. She had to almost shout due to all the cafeteria noises. "It'd be awesome if all of us went trick-or-treating together." The prankster then piped up.

"Oh! It would!" She eagerly turned to Jake, clasping her hands together, "What do you usually do this time of year?"

The boy thought about it for a few moments before answering. "Well, I help my grandmother decorate and bake. I don't really go out trick-or-treating. I just stay home and give out candy." Damn, he really didn't do much with his life.

Did he just now realize that?

I believe so.

Anyways.

"You are so gonna go trick-or-treating with us this year then!" The girl gamer exclaimed. "Have you even dressed up before?"

"I can't say I have?" he trailed off, the strange gleam in her violet eyes was making him a bit hesitant, even more so when she exchanged glances with Jane and Calliope. He nervously looked over at Dirk and oh god he was grinning. It just practically screamed '_You're fucked, bro.' _right back at him.

"Oh man. Me, Janey, and Calliope here so got ya covered!" Roxy then nudged her elbow against the artist's arm enthusiastically.

"Ah, well, you see," Calliope closed the notebook she had been writing on and cleared her throat, giving the shorter male an apologetic smile, "I've got a pretty big cosplay collection at home."

"You're basically gonna be the girls' dress up doll this year." Dirk cut in after taking a sip of his orange soda.

Dress up doll.

Okay, don't panic now. They are just three girls. Three girls couldn't just go and force him into frilly dresses with bows, right?

Damn it all, they're girls.

Of course they could force him into it.

"What type of cosplays do you have, exactly?" Jake inquired.

The girl went thoughtful for a few seconds. "Well, the majority of it consists of a bunch of Lolita style dresses," the tan boy cringed at the thought of wearing a dress and he swore that he saw red tint Dirk's cheeks right beneath his shades, "But I have various accessories from comic characters and I'm pretty sure we can combine a few to make something for you," she finished, rushing her sentence after seeing the shorter male make a face at the sound of dresses.

Okay. Jake wasn't sure if he should be scared or not. He was sure they wouldn't let him back out of this now.

Roxy giggled. "I bet Jakey would look adorbs in a Lolita dress."

Maybe he _should_ be scared.

"No I wouldn't! That is such an absurd idea!" He defended, glasses falling down on his nose as he snapped his head to the side to give the blond an annoyed glance, the heat rising to his cheeks.

This only seemed to encourage the girl as she leaned over the table and pinched the boy's cheeks. "But look at you! I bet you'd make straight guys fall for you with your little charms. The gaydar would surely overload!"

"Oh gosh, Roxy, stop." Jane whined, Calliope giggling and the blond male nodding in agreement, shoulders tense, Jake noticed. What's up with him? He looked fine a few minutes ago. The adventurer wished he could see the blond's eyes, maybe then he could at least have an idea of what the boy was actually feeling, instead of assuming. It always frustrated him that Dirk had that advantage of looking at people's eyes and not the other way around. Hopefully he would eventually get a reason for those weird anime shades.

The bell interrupted his thoughts, and all five of them left to their respective classes, but not before the tan boy agreed to pay the artist a visit by the end of the week to check out the costumes.

Maybe this Halloween would be more eventful than his previous ones.

* * *

**After Note: Okay, another uneventful chapter cuz I'm setting up for next chapter.**

NEXT CHAPTER IS HALLOWEEN CHAPTER SHIT IS GOING DOWN.

**Cuz I can make that happen.**

**And I'm making Jake a kawai little motherfucker.**

**Cuz I can.**

**Hope you enjoyed and you're free to suggest any costume ideas for poor little Jake here. Make them good tho! I was actually considering having the girls force him into a dress for shits and giggles. But no. Just no. **

**Comments and feedback is always welcomed!**


	3. Interactions

**Before Note: Ohmygawd school is the best and worst thing ever. The good thing is that I feel like I'm actually doing something useful with my life (assuming I actually have a life) and I guess I really needed to get out of my house more instead of staying home all day everyday (not counting the con I went to, I literally only went out of my house like 4 times), watching videos and writing fanfics. The bad thing is, that I am forced to interact with most of the idiotic portion of my school and that I'm easily fatigued now. Seriously, I always stayed up till 3 AM but now I cant even last till 11! So due to being physically tired like, all the time now, the Halloween chapter will take a while to be completed, so I just wrote up this bit of filler (?) to make time for that. I just didn't want you guys to wait too long for it so I just came up with this for the meantime.**

**Enough rambling now.**

**Thank you to all of those who reviewed (and those who faved/followed) and suggested costume ideas. They were all great and I at least tried to mention a bit of each in here, but we all know what Jake really wants to dress up as!**

**Disclaimer: If I owned Homestuck, the shipping walls would have exploded by now, so I obviously don't own anything and I'm just using the comic's characters and elements for the sake of entertainment (and sweet, sweet fantasies).**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

"No."

"Aw! Come on! I just want to-"

"Nope."

"Jaaaaaaaaake!"

"Nuh uh."

Roxy pouted as she set down the frilly black and green dress on Calliope's bed, the other girls giggling at the pair's antics and Dirk just leaning on the doorway nonchalantly. Jake practically _begged_ the shaded boy to accompany him on this visit after school. He didn't want to be stuck in the same room with some fangirl that would surely tackle him into some girly anime dress. Dear god, no.

Just no.

Plucking off the bunny ears the bond girl had slipped on his head, he headed back to the box the artist had pulled out of her massive closet. Her whole room, wait scratch that, her whole house was pretty massive, actually. It wasn't a huge mansion, but each room was very spacious. Her room was perfect for posting all her artwork on the walls, her walk-in closet held plenty of costumes (wow, this girl was dedicated to her fandoms), and the shelves around the room were filled with books, notebooks, and sketchbooks. Jake couldn't help but think of all the time she must have put into having all her things the way she had them. Despite all the possessions the room withheld, it was pretty organized. A dream bedroom. Like those you see on home décor magazines.

Calliope was kind enough to let everyone look through her collection of costume accessories, in case they wanted to use it for the upcoming holiday. Jane had occupied herself with messing around with some of the wigs, currently wearing a white one with some orange horns attached to it. After failing to force a dress on Jake, Roxy then decided to pick on the blond male, playfully placing a crown on his head. The adventurer looked through some of the things in the box that was filled with things from fake teeth to ridiculously long robes. He experimentally put on a green helmet that was in the shape of a skull, but tossed that onto because he could barely see with the damn thing on.

"What type of things are you into?" The artist kneeled down next to the shorter male, shuffling through the box with him.

"Hmm," he stopped for a moment, "I really like adventure movies, like Indiana Jones and Tomb Raider!" The realization hit him and Calliope must have seen it also since she smiled and went into her closet and came back with a few things in her hand.

Oh god yes.

Hell yes.

Hell. Fucking. Yes.

The tan boy eagerly took the two fake pistols and holster belt, along with some sort of headset that had a small lens over one eye and some straps to go over his arms to hold other gadgets. Calliope helped him put on a green vest, but decided against it and gave him a gray suit jacket instead, with a green bow tie, respectively.

"You should wear this with some shorts and thick boots, and if you don't want the jacket you can just wear a black tank like Dirk's…over…there," she trailed off and raised an eyebrow that disappeared under her auburn bangs. Confused, Jake turned his head to where she was looking at and almost burst out laughing.

The mechanic was sitting cross-legged on the bed, Jane and Roxy on either side of him. The baker adjusted some blue wings on his back while the gamer shuffled through a box for what he guessed was the missing pair of the rainbow striped, elbow-length glove on his bare right arm. A pair of light blue ears adorned his blond hair and ok, that kinda looked nice, BUT he was just _sitting there with the most poker of poker faces__. _When Roxy finally found the other glove he just raised his other arm and she slipped it on.

Ok, that's it.

The green-eyed boy doubled over, his laughter couldn't even be restrained anymore. "And who did you say would be the dress up doll this year?" He managed between breaths.

"At least _he's _being cooperative!" The scarfed one stuck out her tongue and Jane tried to hide her amusement with a small hand.

"Ok ok, but seriously, what in god's name are you supposed to be?"

"Rainbow Dash." Came the monotone response.

Rainbow Dash. Rainbow Dash. _Rainbow. Dash._

_**Rainbow.**_

_**Dash.**_

"From My Little Pony?"

"Friendship is fucken Magic, bro."

"Dirk, why ar-"

"What do you have against colorful, winged horses?"

"…"

"…"

"Nothing, actually."

The two stared at each other awkwardly, Jake kind of dumbfounded and Dirk stoic as usual, the only thing that let off some emotion was how he bit his lip as if he was embarrassed, until a faint crashing sound was heard from down the hall.

Followed by a few profantities.

Calliope winced at the sound and quietly excused herself out of the room. All four friends stayed silent, not daring to speak as they strained their ears in a poor attempt to listen to what might have happened. All that was managed to be heard were some familiar shouts and a thump as if someone had slammed themselves against the wall. That was when the tension in the bedroom vanished and Roxy gasped, immediately getting up and running out. Jane called after her and soon enough the rest of the group followed out into the kitchen.

"Roxy, it's not a big deal, let him go already!"

"Just because he's your brother doesn't give him the right to be such an ass to you!"

Jake really was surprised by the sight that met him as he and the others entered the room. The blond girl had gripped Calliope's male twin by the front of his shirt, the soles of her shoes crunching as she stepped on a few shards of broken glass that littered the floor. Caliborn gripped her wrists in a poor attempt for her to let him go, an annoyed expression on his face, and his ruby eyes trying to intimidate the (taller) girl.

Within the one month of knowing Roxy, Jake concluded that she was a very laid-back and casual person. She seemed the type to know what type of things weren't worth worrying over and she always wanted everyone around her to be happy. He found that her personality complemented Jane's in a lovely manner. While Jane might be a bit more uptight about things, Roxy was always there to get her to let loose, while Jane, in turn helped Roxy by making her see why some things should be taken more seriously. They evened each other out. He also noticed the very sibling-like relationship Dirk had with Roxy (Jake had soon learned his first assumption about them being an item was _way_ off). It seemed like the male had his reasons for limiting how much of himself he was willing to show people, and Roxy looked like she was the only one who could get through to him and get him to open up. While that fact itself tugged at something in his chest, the tan boy was impressed at how much help and time the gamer was able to give to others.

He knew how protective Roxy was of Calliope, and he had an idea about what relationship between the two siblings was like.

It's just that…

Roxy looked as if she wanted to _kill._

Metaphorically, of course.

After Dirk and Jane managed to pry the gamer off the shorter twin, Caliborn proceeded to stomp off into his room, not without shouting a few colorful remarks ("Nice wings, Strider. Do you need a fucken tutu and a wand to go with that, you fag?") and slamming the door behind him so hard a picture frame could have fallen down from the wall. And so then everyone found themselves back in Calliope's room, after the broken glass was sweeped up (No one but Calliope really knew what happened). The two girls went back to going through things in the box, getting Roxy to join in so the previous incident could be forgotten. It seemed to work well enough, but Jake was still lost on the whole thing.

He sat in the back near the closet, watching the girls silently when Dirk went and sat next to him. The blond didn't say anything, but Jake could feel his gaze on him.

"What was that all about?" The shorter male asked, not really expecting an answer.

"Stuff that happens from time to time."

A pause.

"What's Caliborn's deal anyways?"

The mechanic leaned back on the wall, as if recalling a few memories. The adventurer mirrored the action and put all his attention on the one beside him.

"In elementary school, he wasn't always so hostile towards her. It was more of the typical sibling rivalry. They always played games to test their skills, like chess. The majority of Caliborn's wins were made by him being a sneaky little fucker. Competitions between them started getting heated once middle school came around, even if most of that 'heat' came from his side."

"He's jealous of her?"

"What upsets him the most is that he looks like her but he _isn't _her. Kinda ironic how he treats her the way he does because he looks up to her the most."

"It sounds so...complicated. What do their parents do about it?"

"As far as I know, they aren't really conscious of how far the situation has gotten. And frankly, I think they are afraid of Caliborn's temper."

"Wow...And Roxy?"

"She sees it as her duty to be there for Calliope. People always tend to take advantage of Calliope's kindess and Roxy would have none of that. Ever since third grade. This isn't the first time she's had an encounter with Caliborn."

Jake sighed. Ok. A lot of things made sense now. And he supposed it did explain the grouchy kid's obsession with drawing, even if it was obvious he sucked at it. He was just trying to be like his sister. It made him pity the guy.

Eventually, the girls dragged the two back over to the costumes. It was as if the Caliborn incident had never occurred. They messed around a bit, Jane pretending to be a detective in her coat and fedora, searching around the room for the thief, which was Roxy in a mask and dark clothing. Dirk was the cop donning the appropriate hat and badge, while Jake was his partner who pretended to bust into the room with his double pistols. It was fun to just go off in an imaginary world. But it sure made time fly.

The ping from the tan boy's digital watch brought him back to reality and damn six already?

"Geez, I should be heading home now guys." The tan boy announced while standing up. Grandma always freaked out if he was a minute late, and he would never want to purposely upset her. Roxy shrugged and said she was staying for another hour, and Jane reluctantly went along with it. Calliope put the borrowed items in a bag for him along with Dirk's who also had to leave before his "bro kicked his ass off the roof".

Both males found themselves walking in the same general direction down the sidewalk. The sky was a deep orange color due to the sun almost completely setting behind tall city buildings. A typical calm, Autumn day. The silence around them was comfortable enough and they kept it that way until they reached Jake's home first. They stopped at the lawn and they faced each other. Dirk raised his arm with a clenched fist and the shorter male grinned, doing the same.

"Don't leave me hanging."

"Just pound it."

Laughing at the double meaning, they bumped fists. One of the first things the blond had done after meeting Jake was to educate him in the art of the fist bump.

Such sacred acts of broship.

"Message you later." Dirk called out as the raven haired male reached his front door.

And that concluded Jake's day like topping off an ice-cream sundae with some delicious chocolate syrup.

* * *

**After Note: Ok. Filler contributes nothing to my plot. Well sort of. Maybe. Hm. There's just minor hints on our two guys here showing signs that they are starting to like each other, or something. yeah.**

**So.**

**Lolita Jake.**

**For those who were hoping that that would actually happen, I'm sorry. lol. BUT. But I did draw Jake in a lolita dress during Chemistry and once I get that completed it will probably be the cover picture for this until I come up with something better.**

**Take it or leave it, folks.**

**Agh, I'm so sleepy. **

**It's so hard to stay awake past 11 on Saturdays now, too. What a bummer. I'll probably get through any other announcements I had, in the next chapter. Ad talking about next chapter, I want to make it eventful and use it as an excuse speed up the relationship a bit more. So it might take a while. A month at the most. I'm trying guys! And there's a possibility I might be starting a SolKat fic because idk an idea just randomly slapped me in the face during class so I might be working on that also.**

**Hope you enjoyed! Comments and feedback is always welcomed!**


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